Seared duck breast

Broad Branch Market had boneless duck breasts for $7.99 a pound, which I thought was a pretty good deal, so I bought a couple (1 lb.) for dinner.

I got lucky and found the perfect recipe in just the second cookbook I opened, Bobby Flay Cooks American. His "Seared Muscovy Duck Breast with Black Pepper-Sweet Mustard Glaze" was simple and quick and only required ingredients I had on hand.

You score the skin with a cross-hatch pattern, salt and pepper the breasts all over, and sear them skin side down in a skillet. I used some rendered duck fat for this, though it might have been superfluous. You drain the fat, turn over the breasts and put the skillet into a preheated 400-degree oven for 12 to 15 minutes for medium (though I went a little longer and still had a nice touch of pink in the finished slices), and then take them out of the oven and apply the glaze.

I halved Flay's recipe, which was for 4 people and 2 lbs of duck breasts. The glaze using my half-portions consisted of 2 Tbl Dijon mustard, 1 Tbl whole grain Dijon mustard, 1 Tbl honey, 1 tsp coarsely cracked black pepper and 1/2 tsp dried thyme (since I didn't have 1 tsp chopped fresh thyme), and salt to taste.

You let the duck breasts rest for 10 minutes after applying the glaze, then slice and serve. The honey cuts the mustard down to size (though don't use this recipe if you don't like the taste of mustard), leaving a nice tangy flavor enhanced by the pepper.

I sauteed some leftover white rice in the drained fat as an accompaniment. A quick, easy meal for a weeknight! Duck doesn't have to be a big deal.

I like it when a cookbook has very simple recipes. It is one of Marcella Hazan's strengths, I think, to include even the simplest recipes as long as they are tasty -- like her tomato sauce made just by simmering butter, tomatoes, and an onion with two cloves stuck in it.

We have for some reason accumulated a number of Bobby Flay cookbooks that we don't get much use out of. I may start looking into them more often.